Dems yank DC vote bill in House

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It looks like voters in the District of Columbia will have to wait another week - and possibly a lot longer - to claim official representation in the House.

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday night that the bill would not come to the floor this week after the Senate added the repeal of a controversial weapons ban for the District in its version of the bill last week.

Democrats in the House were trying to devise a way to strip the repeal from the unrelated voting measure. But Hoyer said negotiators couldn't work out a deal.

"The Democratic leadership repeatedly has made promises for a return to ‘regular order’ in the House, but this is added proof of just how hollow that promise has become," Boehner said. "By maneuvering to deny second amendment rights to residents of our nation’s capital, Democratic leaders have made it clear that ‘regular order’ and the will of the American people will be respected only when it serves their interests."

The bill would give the District an official vote in the House while adding another seat from Utah to balance what would surely be a Democratic seat in Washington with a solidly Republican seat in Utah.

Backers of voting rights bill remain hopeful that they can work out a deal.

"We're still working our way through," Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen said as he left the meeting. "We're talking to members about different alternatives right now."

Readers' Comments (13)

Dems won't take guns out of the hands of illegal aliens until after the murders but they sure can keep them away from D.C. citizenry. Democrats are scared of armed citizens in D.C. but not the armed illegal aliens roaming the country?

Let DC residents have as many guns as they like so the criminal subculture with the nation's highest AIDS rate which elected criminal addicts like Marion Barry can thin out the bad guys and fools. Meanwhile, it will take years until the Supremes decide the unconstitutionality of a DC vote, and a lazy Congress will decline to use the proper route of a constitutional amendment which will likely fail. What a hoot!

Because liberals being so stupid as they are would be unable to realize that it's a constitutional thing. Besides, why are the socialists so scared of having lawful citizens having firearms? Could it be that they know that the 2nd Amendment would be the reset button for the US Constitution? Pink slips for Pelosi and Reid at the midterms while Obama gets his Nov 2012.

The idiots are drinking the kool-aid again. This gun amendment doesn't apply to law-abiding citizens; it would repeal ALL gun laws - so convicted felons, psychopaths, wife beaters, gang members and children could have uzis, assault weapons, anything.

How stupid is that? The deal was bad anyway - why should the Mormons get another seat in Congress? Or maybe its a good idea - then we could pass legislation that permits polygamy!

I've not been here long enough to know if you're a site troll or not but in case you're serious, that's about as whacked a statement as I've seen lately. On second thought, never mind, it has to be a joke.

Who prompted the repeal of the DC gun laws in the first place? Aren't 75% of DC residentd liberal democrats? So why would they even want to own guns? Keep the ban on firearms in DC and let the criminals that gun laws don't apply to anyway keep robbing the stupid rich white liberal on their way to their govt jobs.